The 39000 Steps

Some things I'm starting to get the hang of. For the second time in as many trips, the local bus was right ahead of the express and I made the exchange perfectly at the transfer point. I also figured out how to order ahead and use up more money from my Starbucks cards that have been sitting around forever. That timed perfectly as well, and my order was waiting for me, all prepaid, by the time I hit Manhattan West. Work was nonstop, but I made time to eat lunch away from my desk on the other side of the floor, with its cushiony seats and handy tables, and I think I'm going to do that some more and encourage my fellow exec assistants to do the same. I did a bit of mentoring today, lots of helping folks out, and a heaping amount of scheduling. It seems everyone wants something on a shortened work week! Since I was unburdened by my backpack which is stored in my temporary locker at the office (where I'll be returning tomorrow), I decided to see if taking the "E" train to 53rd Street then walking one block west to Sixth Avenue was worth it, as that's what I'd planned for my next trip to the medical center on 51st Street in a couple weeks. Alas, that didn't work. It took forever to even get the "E" train, as I had to walk through a long corridor and up at least two flights to get to the platform (no elevator as with the "1"). But that was nothing compared to the 7th Avenue stop. I counted at least eight flights of stairs on my way to get the heck out of that station. Way too much for me, although I got quite the cardio workout, from which I'm still recovering. So I'm afraid I'm going to allow more time and instead just get a crosstown local bus to a northbound one for my next appointment. I didn't even care for the express bus ride home; the traffic on the Deegan was a mess and the driver was one of those stop-and-go guys. So far the optimal ride home is still the "1" to the local Bronx bus...